


The Road Trip

by Pembrooke330



Category: Archie Comics, Archie Comics & Related Fandoms, Riverdale (TV 2017)
Genre: F/M, Jeronica, Kissing, One Shot, Resolved Sexual Tension, Riverdale, Road Trip, Road Trips, Sex, Sexual Tension, Veronica Lodge - Freeform, Vughead, jughead - Freeform, jughead and veronica, jughead jones - Freeform, veronica - Freeform, veronica and jughead
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-02-11
Updated: 2019-02-11
Packaged: 2019-10-26 02:18:08
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,910
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17737142
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Pembrooke330/pseuds/Pembrooke330
Summary: Jughead and Veronica take a road trip across the country to college in Seattle and unsaid words finally get spoken.





	The Road Trip

Jughead glanced over at Veronica as she sat in the passenger seat of his beat up Chevy truck.

She had her reading glasses on as she held a faded, paperback copy of _The Bell Jar_ while eating from a bag of unshelled pistachios.

Never in his life had he thought he would be on a road trip with Veronica Lodge of all people in the world. But they were both heading to Seattle, Washington for college and it only made sense for the two of them to trek across the country together. And it was the only way their parents would let them go without them.

“You two take care of each other.” FP had said to Jughead and Veronica before they’d loaded the rest of their things into the bed of the truck.

“Don’t worry, Mr. Jones. Jughead will likely have no social life whatsoever so he’ll be easy to find when I happen to remember to check on him.”

Jughead had glared at her.

“And I’ll be sure to regularly check every pretentious coffee shop in the city to make sure Veronica hasn’t choked on her triple venti, soy, no foam latte.”

Veronica had rolled her eyes.

“You’re so dumb, Jughead. I _never_ order venti.”

So far, the trip hadn’t been horrible. He and Veronica were friends, after all, and had been ever since their junior year of high school when they’d finally begun to see eye to eye, and actually attempted to understand each other.

It had only been in recent months that Jughead had begun to realize that what he felt for Veronica was no longer just friendship.

Little by little, as each day passed, she had gotten under his skin. And while they’d been working at Pop’s together over the summer, he’d gotten to see different sides of Veronica that he’d never seen before.

She had been so good with their customers. Always smiling and taking pride in getting their orders right. She worked hard and was generous with the fellow staff when dividing up the tip jar. She told jokes to Pop and the other cooks. And she always gave quarters to the little kids so they could use the gumball machine.

Jughead had felt ashamed that he had never before known what a kind heart Veronica had, and how her affluent upbringing didn’t diminish her need to give every bit of herself to her work.

It had all led to him falling for her, and hard. But he didn’t dare tell her. She would never forgive him for it, and she would most likely tell him he was ridiculous and selfish. So he would stay quiet, and hope to just get over what he felt for the raven haired princess.

“Do you want me to take over driving?” Veronica asked as she turned the page of her book without looking up.

Jughead cleared his throat, wondering if she’d been aware that he’d been looking at _her_ more than at the road ahead.

“I can handle it until we stop for the night.” Jughead replied coolly, glancing at the digital clock on the car radio.

They still had a couple hours of daylight to burn before stopping at whatever side of the highway hotel they could find.

Most places they stayed had been total dumps, but Veronica had barely complained. She’d been a good sport throughout the whole trip, almost as if she’d enjoyed it. Jughead knew that her mother could have chartered her a private jet and had her in Seattle in no time. But Veronica had chosen to road trip across the country with him instead. And he was grateful for her company.

Suddenly, Veronica closed her book and sat up in her seat as she took off her glasses. He could already tell she had a plan in her mind.

“This is our last night on the road, Jug. You know what we should do once we get checked in?”  

Jughead shook his head no.

“What’s your brilliant idea, Lodge?” He asked, unable to stop a thought that had suddenly popped into his mind.

Veronica got a devious grin on her face.

“We should get drunk. You know, celebrate our new adventure, our next stage of life. You starting your English degree at Seattle Pacific and me starting law school at the University of Washington. What do you think?”

Jughead chuckled.

“Where will we get alcohol from? We’re not of age, Veronica.”

She gave him a mischevious look before pulling a large bottle of Captain Morgan from her tote bag.

“I swiped this from my dad’s liquor cabinet before we left.” She said as she cocked an eyebrow at him.

“So…are you in?” She asked, a hopeful look on her face.

Jughead sucked in breath before answering.

“I’m in.”

\---

 

Veronica was nervous as she sat on the bed of the hotel room she and Jughead had just booked for the night, a glass of the rum and Coke and in her hand.

She found herself taking generous gulps of the sweet beverage that burned as it washed down her throat in hopes that it would relax her, and quickly.

“I’m sorry that there was only one room left, Veronica. But I’ll sleep on the floor.” Jughead told her as he took off his beanie and laid it on the bedside table.

Veronica scoffed.

“Ew, Jughead! Having to walk on this floor is bad enough as it is. There is no _way_ I’m letting you actually _sleep_ on it.”

But Jughead laughed.

“Hey, depending on how drunk I get, I might not even realize I passed out on it anyway.”

Veronica chuckled.

“Well, that might be, but you’re welcome to share the bed with me. I don’t mind.” She said, unable to hide the earnestness in her voice.

She really didn’t want him to sleep on the floor, not one bit, and for more reasons than one.

Veronica noticed the flicker of surprise in Jughead’s eyes at her words, as if he hadn’t expected her to be so accommodating.

But the thought of sharing a bed with Jughead after a night of drinking made her pulse race. This was what she had been trying to get up the nerve to do. To finally tell Jughead how she felt about him, and to show him how she felt too.

For months now she had been feeling something serious for the brooding loner, and she could hardly stand it anymore. Being alone with him like this had only amplified how she felt. It was a constant thought as each hour ticked by while they were on the road. She lay awake in her hotel room for the past two nights thinking about what it would feel like to have him next to her.

It was so strange, but it just made sense to be feeling this way about Jughead Jones. He was unlike her in so many ways, but so much like her in the ways that mattered most to her. No one kept her guessing the way he did. And no one had captured her attention the way he had. Jughead was a man with many traits, and she found herself liking every single one he possessed.

“Stop being a coward and tell him.” She had said to herself earlier that day while checking her makeup in the rearview mirror when Jughead had been pumping gas into the truck.

But she was terrified to admit to him everything she’d been feeling out of sheer belief that he would completely reject her, that he would be absolutely repulsed at the thought of being with the spoiled, rich, mobster princess of Riverdale.

Yet, she knew that if there was ever the right opportunity to tell Jughead the truth, it was now. Right before they both went off to their respective schools in a city big enough that they might never run into each other, and she wouldn’t have to face the embarrassment of seeing him after spilling her guts to him.

She sighed as the alcohol began to relax her while she mustered up the nerve to make her confession.

“Want another drink?” Jughead asked her, changing the subject from sleeping arrangements to the celebration they were supposed to be having.

Veronica nodded yes, and as his fingers touched hers to take her glass, she felt the electricity between them.

It felt reckless, out of control like a live wire, and it couldn’t be contained or ignored.

They stared at each other, neither one saying a word. They had both felt it.

Finally, Veronica stood up, their hands both still holding the glass, not taking their eyes off each other.

Her heard slammed inside her chest. This was it. This was the moment she had been waiting for, and she couldn’t let it pass without saying what she needed to say.

“Jughead...I-“

But he cut her off when his mouth claimed hers in a tempestuous kiss. He took her face in his hands as she clutched his jaw between her own.

Soft lips against hers turned into slick tongues tasting and playing, making her sigh into Jughead’s mouth as his kiss swept her away somewhere far from the gritty, roadside motel.

She’d never been kissed this way before, and it was absolute heaven.

There was no concept of time between the breathless sighs and sounds of lips on lips, teeth against teeth.

And when Jughead’s tongue slid out of her mouth before he pulled away, Veronica swore she could have stayed that way forever if it had been possible.

“I’m sorry, what were you going to say?” Jughead asked with a quiet chuckle as he rested his forehead against hers, his arms circled around her waist, holding her so close to him that she could feel his desire for her through his jeans.

Veronica smiled weakly.

“Um…just that…I…I have a crush on you, Jughead Jones.”

Jughead tipped up her chin to look him in the eyes. They were as blue as a cloudless sky and she knew she would forever get lost in them.

“Really?” He asked, apparently needing more confirmation than how she had just kissed him back.

She nodded, feeling the blush in her cheeks. No one had ever been able to elicit such a reaction in her before, and she wondered if Jughead had any idea what kind of power he now wielded.

“Good to know, because I have one on you too.”

Neither one could contain the grins on their faces at what they’d both just discovered. Veronica had never felt such relief and such elation all at once.

“So I guess it’s kind of convenient that we have this hotel room.” She said as she eyed the bed next to them.

Jughead chuckled.

“I have another little confession to make, Veronica.” He said with a nervous chuckle.

Veronica smirked knowingly.

“This wasn’t the only room left, was it?”

Jughead shook his head no.

Veronica gave him a seductive smile as she stood up on her tiptoes and kissed his cheek.

“Well, then I guess you need to apologize to me. And…you might want to start now.” She whispered in his ear.

Jughead picked her up then before yanking the comforter off the bed and laying her down.

“So, Princess, best road trip ever?” He said with a flirty grin as they began removing each other’s clothes.

Veronica nodded.

“Best road trip _ever_.”

 

The End.

 

 


End file.
